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From the photo, I do not understand that crossing.  Why are there two crossbucks facing in each direction?  The second crossbuck on each side has a yield sign on its post, while the first crossbuck on each side does not have a yield sign.  Then there is a freestanding stop sign facing in each direction.  I have never liked the concept of placing yield signs at grade crossings.  Technically it is the correct message for a grade crossing, but the yield message is the most abused of all traffic instructions.  It allows risk taking as extreme as possible.  Any close call is OK as long as it is a miss for the yielder.  Furthermore, the concept of yield is muddied by its relationship to the concept of merge because the two entirely different concepts come into play at similar looking road arrangements.  The message sent by a yield sign is that you do not have the right of way where it conflicts with another route if a vehicle is approaching on that route.  But the message usually received is simply, "you don't have to stop."  So I think yield signs make grade crossings more prone to risk taking because of their misunderstood, watered down message.  Besides, the correct yield message is already perfectly embodied in the crossbuck, so a yield sign at a grade crossing is redundant.The correct yield message is also perfectly embodied in a stop sign as a component of the total message, which is stop and yield.  So, I find it particularly weird to post both yield and stop signs.  A driver might easily rationalize that they have a choice between the two messages and pick the one that takes the least time.  I think that is likely to be what happened with this collision.  Certainly the driver knew about the crossing and the stop sign.  He may not have thought stopping was necessary because he did not see any train approaching and failed to notice the one standing there.  He may have overlooked the fact that stopping for no apparent reason might pay off by giving him time to realize a train was blocking the crossing.      Whether the yield sign contributed to a rationalization that stopping was not necessary nobody can say.  But you have a stop sign standing right beside a sign that basically says "you don't have to stop" in a lot of people's minds, especially if they don't see another vehicle approaching.  If it were my decision, I would get rid of the yield signs and extra crossbucks, and maybe make the stop signs bigger.
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